


It Just Works

by corgasbord



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa 3: The End of 希望ヶ峰学園 | The End of Kibougamine Gakuen | End of Hope's Peak High School, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Despair, F/M, Fluff, fair warning that this is meant to be kind of silly, nanami's birthday is on white day, nintendo switch cartridges get involved, so her present better be twice as good
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-14
Updated: 2017-03-14
Packaged: 2018-10-05 06:01:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10299203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/corgasbord/pseuds/corgasbord
Summary: Following some sage advice from a teacher, Hajime gets Chiaki a gift for her birthday. All goes unexpectedly well - for the most part, at least.





	

**Author's Note:**

> alright so i was pressed for time but i felt like i had to churn something out in honor of nanami's birthday because, well. she's my fave. so have this oneshot in which i pretend that dr3's characterization of her wasn't complete garbage.
> 
> ([tumblr](http://corgiboard.tumblr.com/post/158410403105/it-just-works) link)

Hajime can come up with plenty of good reasons for a guy like himself to be nervous on White Day, and he’s pretty sure that many of them could apply to him. However, his biggest point of concern is something that he doubts most men can relate to.

White Day also happens to be his crush’s birthday, and he didn’t know until a week in advance. Chiaki had never brought it up herself, and he’d been thoughtless enough to neglect asking.

He still can’t figure out what’s worse about that - the fact that it left him with six days to scrape together the money to get her a worthy gift, or the fact that he didn’t even hear about it from the girl in question. His informant was one particularly nosy teacher who had cornered him after school to ask what he planned to get her, having clearly expected him to already know. Upon finding out that he didn’t, she’d given him a lecture and motivational speech all rolled into one, which had done little to mitigate his oncoming anxiety attack.

He somehow managed to successfully get his hands on one of the video games that was suggested to him - he definitely couldn’t just settle for getting her chocolate at this point, after all - but his anxiety didn’t dissipate even after that.

As he prepares himself for school on the morning of the 14th, it’s more present than ever, weighing like a stone in his gut and getting heavier with each hour that passes. By the time his classes are finished, he starts to feel like it could bore a hole through his stomach at any moment.

He’s not about to chicken out, though. He couldn’t, not after coming this far. Besides, as worried as he is about whether she’ll like it, he reminds himself that it would be worse of him to pretend he’s still ignorant about her birthday than to give her something she doesn’t want. At least this way, he’ll be able to say that he tried. 

Before he leaves the classroom, he checks his bag again, as if there were any possibility that the game could have disappeared. It didn’t. It’s still there, nestled between a couple of his notebooks. So, he takes a couple of minutes to tamp down the last of his nervousness before heading out to the fountain in the school courtyard.

The bench in front of the fountain has become their meeting place. It’s there that they’ve spent the majority of their lazy afternoons since they met, playing games together until the sun hangs low in the sky. Perhaps it’s a frivolous way to pass the time, but it’s a comforting part of his routine, something he’d be hard-pressed to give up.

As usual, she’s there when he arrives, busily tapping away at the controls on a handheld game. She doesn’t appear to notice him until he settles down next to her and greets her with, “Happy birthday, Nanami-san.”

That causes her to look up quizzically. “Oh… did I mention that today’s my birthday?”

Hajime hesitates, then decides to spare the details about where he got that information. “No, I just heard about it from someone else. Did you not want me to know or something?” The last part is joking, mostly, but he does wonder why she never brought it up before.

Chiaki shakes her head. “That’s not it… I just didn’t think it was that big of a deal, so telling you kind of slipped my mind.” In spite of her words, though, she smiles. “I didn’t tell my classmates, either, but they found out anyway. Yukizome-sensei had a small party for me, and they even pooled their resources to get me a present… they’re all so nice.”

She pauses, getting a faraway look in her eyes, before suddenly focusing on him again. “Oh- that’s right. I saved you some cake.” That’s when Hajime finally notices the foil-wrapped plate on Chiaki’s opposite side, which she picks up with one hand to give to him. “Here.”

Hajime gives her a dumbstruck look. “Nanami-san, you didn’t have to do that for me. I mean, it’s _your_ birthday.”

“But you weren’t able to come to my party,” she replies, holding the plate closer as an implicit demand for him to take it. “And I wanted you to have some… though, I would have liked it better if you were there.”

She’s giving him an unyielding stare, so he finally accepts the offer with a sigh. “Okay… thanks.”

As he sets the plate on his lap, though, he remembers the game still stowed in his bag and sees the perfect opportunity to give it to her. “Oh, that reminds me- I got you something, too. You know, seeing as how it’s your birthday and all…” He trails off, suddenly feeling incredibly stupid for stating the obvious, and figures he should probably just stop talking. Stalling is only making him more tense, anyway.

With that in mind, he turns to dig through his bag for the gift, and he can sense that her eyes are trained on him with piqued curiosity. He’s trying to keep his hands from trembling faintly as he withdraws it and hands it to her, his own gaze cast nervously downward.

Almost immediately, he hears a delighted gasp. “Hinata-kun, this is…!”

Hajime risks a glance over at her, and a surge of relief passes through him when he sees that she’s already tearing off the plastic film covering the case. It occurs to him that maybe he should have at least attempted to wrap it himself, but she doesn’t seem to mind in the slightest.

“So, um. Do you like it?” he ventures as she turns the case over and over in her hands, even going so far as to open and close it a couple times as if to confirm it’s real.

“Hinata-kun, do you have any idea what a big deal this is?” she asks, turning to him again with a serious look that directly contrasts the way that she’s practically bouncing in her seat. He would probably be more put off by this if he weren’t used to seeing her get so riled up about her special interests. “I’m a huge fan of _The Legend of Zelda_ , and I’ve been wanting this game since the trailer was released! Plus, it’s already one of the most critically acclaimed installments in the series, and it hasn’t even been out for that long!”

Hajime blinks, mostly surprised that he was _that_ successful. “Oh. Then… you’re welcome.”

Chiaki beams. “Thank you so much, Hinata-kun. You didn’t even have to get me anything, especially not something this nice…” She finally quiets down, but continues to fidget slightly in excitement, fingers tapping aimlessly against the case.

After a few seconds, though, her smile begins to fade. “But how did you…” Her brows furrow thoughtfully before lifting, eyes widening in realization. “Yukizome-sensei told you, didn’t she?”

Hajime can’t help but be startled that she came to that conclusion so quickly. “Wha- what makes you think that?”

Wordlessly, Chiaki turns to reach into her bag, pulling something out. It’s a portable gaming device, significantly larger than any others he’s seen her play on, and it doesn’t take him long to recognize it as a Nintendo Switch. “This was the gift my classmates got me today,” she explains. “They didn’t get me any games for it, but Yukizome-sensei told me that she was sure someone would. So, looking back on it… I think she knew what you were getting me. In fact, I bet she was the one who told you when my birthday is, too, huh?”

She’s staring at him intently again - not in an angry way, but in a way that tells Hajime that she knows she’s right, so he has no choice but to reply honestly.

“Yeah,” he admits, averting his eyes sheepishly. “You should probably be thanking her more than me, actually. If not for her, then I doubt I would have figured it out on my own.”

Chiaki pauses, taking that in. Then she counters, “But you were the one who actually got the game for me, didn’t you? I bet it cost you a lot, and like I said, you didn’t have to do that. So… you should give yourself a little more credit.”

“... Right,” Hajime concedes, even if he doesn’t completely believe it. If nothing else, he supposes he can pat himself on the back for not being a total failure.

When he glances back over at Chiaki, she seems satisfied with his answer and returns her attention to her brand new game. “Now, then… there’s only one thing left to do,” she says, cracking open the case again to take the game out.

_Well, of course she would want to play it,_ Hajime thinks.

The last thing he expects her to do is place the cartridge directly onto her tongue.

He can’t help the noise of shock that escapes him, but there are no noticeable changes in Chiaki’s expression, even as she pulls the cartridge away a few seconds later. “Yep. It’s disgusting,” she confirms stoically, wiping it with her sleeve.

“What was _that_ for?” Hajime asks, almost horrified.

“I keep hearing that these games are made to taste really bitter, so that little kids won’t eat them,” she answers. “So I had to try it for myself.”

“But you’re not a little kid, Nanami-san,” Hajime points out.

“So? I don’t see what that has to do with anything.”

“So…” Hajime hesitates, then sighs. “Nevermind.” Chiaki is smart, and he knows Chiaki is smart, but she’s prone to somewhat childish behaviors at times.

“What, did you wanna try?” she asks, offering him the cartridge.

Case in point.

“I’ll pass,” he says with one hand raised almost defensively, opting not to tell her exactly how gross he finds the idea. “I’d rather watch you play it, really.”

“Ah. Okay,” she agrees readily, moving to slide the game into the Switch. “Oh, but… you won’t get too bored just sitting there and watching, will you?”

“Nah, don’t worry about it,” he assures her with a shake of his head. “You know I don’t mind.” And how could he, when he enjoys simply being around her? Even for all of her quirks, she’s one of the kindest people he’s ever met - she’d have to be, to want to waste her time with someone as dull as him.

So when she scoots in to allow him a better view of her screen, pushing their shoulders together with the movement, he can’t think of a reason to complain. She’s happy with his gift, and that’s all he really needs to consider this White Day a success.

**Author's Note:**

> to anyone who doubts that nanami would lick a nintendo switch cartridge, i'd like you to remember the time in chapter 3 of sdr2 where she put glue in her mouth without hesitation. that is all


End file.
